Point Sur State Marine Reserve and Marine Conservation Area

Point Sur State Marine Reserve (SMR) and Point Sur State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) are two adjoining marine protected areas that lie offshore of Point Sur, part of the Big Sur area on California’s central coast. The combined area of these marine protected areas is 19.68 square miles (51.0 km2). The SMR protects all marine life within its boundaries. Fishing and take of all living marine resources is prohibited. Within the SMCA fishing and take of all living marine resources is prohibited except the commercial and recreational take of salmon and albacore.[1]

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Point Sur SMR and Point Sur SMCA were established in September 2007 by the California Fish & Game Commission. They are two of 29 marine protected areas adopted during the first phase of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative. The Marine Life Protection Act Initiative (or MLPAI) is a collaborative public process to create a statewide network of marine protected areas along the California coastline.[1]

These two marine protected areas adjoin each other off the coast of Point Sur. The Big Sur coastline is known for its spectacular and rugged scenery. The sites are adjacent to Andrew Molera State Park and Point Sur State Historic Park.[2]

The Point Sur marine protected areas contain a wide diversity of habitats that support a range of fish, seabird and invertebrate species. The protected lee of Point Sur supports a large kelp bed that provides a shelter and nursery habitat to rockfish and other species. Remote from ports and from urban development, the Point Sur marine protected areas protect one of the few remaining areas in central California that support large, healthy fish populations and pristine habitat.[3]

As specified by the Marine Life Protection Act, select marine protected areas along California’s central coast are being monitored by scientists to track their effectiveness and learn more about ocean health. Similar studies in marine protected areas located off of the Santa Barbara Channel Islands have already detected gradual improvements in fish size and number.[5]

Local scientific and educational institutions involved in the monitoring include Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station, University of California Santa Cruz, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Research methods include hook-and-line sampling, intertidal and scuba diver surveys, and the use of Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) submarines.

The coast is frequently praised for its rugged coastline and mountain views. As the longest and most scenic stretch of undeveloped coastline in the United States, Big Surs Cone Peak at 5,155 feet is only 3 miles from the ocean. The stunning views make Big Sur a popular tourist destination, the region is protected by the Big Sur Local Coastal Program which preserves the region as open space, a small residential community, and agricultural ranching. Approved in 1981, it is one of the most restrictive local use programs in the state, and is widely regarded as one of the most restrictive documents of its kind anywhere. The program protects viewsheds from the highway and many vantage points, about 60% of the coastal region is owned by a government or private agency that does not allow any development. The majority of the region is part of the Los Padres National Forest. When the region was first settled by European immigrants in 1853, the region remained one of the most isolated areas of California and the United States until, after 18 years of construction, the Carmel-San Simeon Highway was completed in 1937.

The interior region is uninhabited, while the coast remains relatively isolated and sparsely populated with about 1,000 year-round residents and relatively few visitor accommodations. The original Spanish-language name for the mountainous terrain south of Monterey, the capital of Alta California, was el país grande del sur meaning. It was Anglicized by English-speaking settlers as Big Sur, Big Sur is not an incorporated town, but an area without formal boundaries on the Central Coast of California. The boundaries of the region have expanded north and south over time. Members of the Harlen family who homesteaded the Lucia region 9 miles south of Slates Hot Springs, prior to the construction of Highway 1, the residents on the south coast had little contact with the residents to the north of them. Later on the border was extended as far north as Malpaso Creek,4.5 miles south of Carmel River. Most current descriptions of the area refer to either Malpaso Creek or the Carmel River in Monterey County as the northern border, the southern border is generally accepted to be well past Lucia at San Carpoforo Creek in San Luis Obispo County.

Visitors sometimes mistakenly believe that Big Sur refers to the community of buildings and services near Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Author and Big Sur historian Jeff Norman considered Big Sur to extend inland to include the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean, the region is relatively difficult to access. Prior to 1937 when the coast highway was completed, the way to travel the coast was a horse and wagon road. The Old Coast Road was expanded south to the Post Ranch near Sycamore Canyon, the southern portion is known as the Coast Ridge Road

Marine life, or sea life or ocean life, refers to the plants and other organisms that live in the salt water of the sea or ocean, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life helps determine the nature of our planet. Marine organisms produce much of the oxygen we breathe, shorelines are in part shaped and protected by marine life, and some marine organisms even help create new land. Most life forms evolved initially in marine habitats, oceans provide about 99 percent of the living space on the planet. The earliest vertebrates appeared in the form of fish, which live exclusively in water, some of these evolved into amphibians which spend portions of their lives in water and portions on land. Other fish evolved into mammals and subsequently returned to the ocean as seals. Plant forms such as kelp and algae grow in the water and are the basis for some underwater ecosystems and particularly phytoplankton, are key primary producers forming the general foundation of the ocean food chain.

Marine vertebrates must obtain oxygen to survive, and they do so in various ways, fish have gills instead of lungs, although some species of fish, such as the lungfish, have both. Marine mammals, such as dolphins, otters, some amphibians are able to absorb oxygen through their skin. Invertebrates exhibit a range of modifications to survive in poorly oxygenated waters including breathing tubes. However, as invertebrate life evolved in an aquatic habitat most have little or no specialisation for respiration in water. Altogether there are 230,000 documented marine species, including over 16,000 species of fish, there is no life without water, which has been characterised as the solvent of life. The Nobel prize winner Albert Szent-Györgyi referred to water as the mater und matrix, the abundance of water on earths surface is a unique feature that distinguishes earth from other planets in the Solar System. Earths hydrosphere consists chiefly of the oceans, but technically includes all surfaces in the world, including inland seas, rivers.

The deepest underwater location is Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean with a depth of 10,911.4 m, the mass of the oceans is approximately 1. 35×1018 metric tons, or about 1/4400 of Earths total mass. The oceans cover an area of 3. 618×108 km2 with a depth of 3682 m. If all of Earths crustal surface was at the elevation as a smooth sphere. About 97. 5% of the water is saline, the remaining 2. 5% is fresh water, Most fresh water, about 68. 7%, is present as ice in ice caps and glaciers

Marine protected areas are protected areas of seas, estuaries or large lakes. MPAs restrict human activity for a purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources. Such marine resources are protected by local, territorial, regional, national, or international authorities and differ substantially among and between nations. This variation includes different limitations on development, fishing practices, fishing seasons and catch limits and bans on removing or disrupting marine life. In some situations, MPAs provide revenue for countries, potentially equal to the income that they would have if they were to grant companies permissions to fish.55 million km2 in the Ross Sea. MPA is a term for protected areas that includes some area of marine landscape and/or biodiversity. Several types of compliant MPA can be distinguished, A totally marine area with no significant terrestrial parts, an area containing both marine and terrestrial components, which can vary between two extremes, those that are predominantly maritime with little land, or that is mostly terrestrial.

Marine ecosystems that contain land and intertidal components only, for example, a mangrove forest would contain no open sea or ocean marine environment, but its river-like marine ecosystem nevertheless complies with the definition. IUCN offered seven categories of protected area, based on management objectives, related protected area categories include the following, World Heritage Site – an area exhibiting extensive natural or cultural history. Maritime areas are represented, with only 46 out of over 800 sites. Man and the Biosphere – UNESCO program that promotes a relationship between humans and the biosphere. Under article 4, biosphere reserves must encompass a mosaic of ecological systems, in structure they are similar to Multiple-use MPAs, with a core area ringed by different degrees of protection. Ramsar site – must meet criteria for the definition of Wetland to become part of a global system. These sites do not necessarily receive protection, but are indexed by importance for recommendation to an agency that could designate it a protected area.

While area refers to a single location, terms such as network, system. At the 2004 Convention on Biological Diversity, the agreed to use network on a global level. The network is a mechanism to establish regional and local systems, no take zones, are areas designated in a number of the worlds MPAs, where all forms of exploitation are prohibited and severely limits human activities. These no take zones can cover an entire MPA, or specific portions, for example, the 1,150,000 square kilometres Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the worlds largest MPA, is a 100% no take zone

Point Sur State Historic Park is a state park unit of California, United States, preserving the 1889 Point Sur Lighthouse. The park is located on the Big Sur coastline of Monterey County,19 miles south of Rio Road in Carmel and it is both a California State Park and a property on the National Register of Historic Places. Point Sur was a hazard to navigation, and the site of many shipwrecks. After the sinking of the USS Ventura in 1875, it was determined that a lightstation was needed in this remote area, Point Sur Lighthouse opened on August 1,1889. This very remote station was required to be self-sufficient, as most supplies had to be brought in by ship, Lighthouse employees and their families had their own vegetable gardens. Children stayed with local ranchers during the week in order to attend school, returning home on weekends, in 1927, a schoolteacher was assigned to the Lightstation to teach the six children who resided there. Easy access to the lightstation came in 1937, when Highway One through Big Sur was completed, in the 1940s, children from the Lightstation were assimilated into Big Surs larger school.

The Lighthouse Service was absorbed into the Coast Guard in 1939, the Lightstation was automated in the late 1960s, and in 1974 ceased to have a light keeper. The coast off Point Sur Lighthouse was the location of the sinking of the United States NavyairshipUSS Macon in 1935, Point Sur State Historic Park was established in 1986. The park contains Californias only complete turn-of-the-20th-century lighthouse open to the public, walking tours are held year-round on Saturdays and Wednesdays, and on Thursdays during July and August. Tours are first-come, first-served, visitors are advised to arrive a half-hour before the tour, Point Sur State Marine Reserve and Marine Conservation Area are marine protected areas offshore from Point Sur Lighthouse. Like underwater parks, these protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife. California State Parks, Official Point Sur State Historic Park website Point Sur Lighthouse and State Historic Park

Andrew Molera State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving relatively undeveloped land on the Big Sur coast. Situated at the mouth of the Big Sur River, the property was part of the Rancho El Sur land grant, activities at the park include hiking and beachcombing, with miles of trails winding through meadows and hilltops. A primitive walk-in trail camp, popular with hikers and bikers, is located approximately one-third of a mile from the parking area and it is considered the most reliable surfing area in Big Sur. The park is 20 miles south of Carmel-by-the-Sea on State Route 1, Andrew Molera State Park features the historic Cooper Cabin, built in 1861 or 1862. It is the oldest structure in Big Sur, fur trader Juan Bautista Roger Cooper was Andrew Moleras grandfather. The Ventana Wildlife Society has established a Discovery Center within the park, the Discovery Center includes exhibits on local wildlife, including the California condor, and a bird banding laboratory. Scientists and other employees give regular tours of Andrew Molera State Park, explaining the flora.

The park features a waterfall, 40-foot Highbridge Falls. Other nearby waterfalls include Limekiln Falls, Salmon Creek Falls, McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Andrew Molera State Park has over 20 miles of hiking trails. Some run along the shore, others along the Big Sur River, the only camping available in the park is in a 24-site walk-in campground. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis, the campground is particularly popular with European visitors. No dogs are allowed on the trails or campground, point Sur State Marine Reserve and Marine Conservation Area are marine protected areas offshore from Andrew Molera State Park. Like underwater parks, these protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife. John Bautista Rogers Cooper traded Rancho Bolsa del Potrero y Moro Cojo in the northern Salinas Valley with Juan Bautista Alvarado for the Rancho El Sur on which the park is located today. When the Mexican government ceded California to the United States after the Mexican–American War, Cooper filed a claim for Rancho El Sur with the Public Land Commission in 1852, and he received the legal land patent after year of litigation in 1866.

Point Sur Lightstation is a lighthouse at Point Sur, California,135 miles south of San Francisco, on the 361-foot -tall rock at the head of the point. It was established in 1889 and is part of Point Sur State Historic Park, the light house is 40 feet tall and 270 feet above sea level. As of 2016, and for the future the light is still in operation as an essential aid to navigation. The lightstation is part of Point Sur State Historic Park, Point Sur is the only complete turn-of-the-20th-century lightstation open to the public in California. Three-hour walking tours guided by volunteers are available on Wednesdays and weekends throughout the year, the lighthouse has had four different light sources during its history. First, it had an oil lamp, and an oil vapor lamp. Three different fuels were used, whale oil, lard oil, two different kinds of electric lights were used. The Station emitted a beam of light which swept across the arc to seaward of the Point, the lamps light was concentrated into a beam with a first-order Fresnel lens.

The lens was almost 9 feet tall, weighed 4,330 pounds, the entire structure, including the pedestal and clockworks was 18 feet tall and weighed 9,570 pounds. Currently, the original first-order Fresnel lens along with the clockworks are on display at the Museum of Monterey in nearby Monterey, in dense fog, the light beam might not be visible, so the lighthouse had a foghorn to alert ships. A coal-powered foghorn was installed when the light was used, in 1972, the “Super Tyfon Double Fog Signal, ” named after the giant Typhon from Greek mythology, was put into use. This system consisted of two compressed air horns sounding simultaneously, and could be heard up to 3 nautical miles away, the modern electric tone fog signal was a 12 volt high frequency fog signal with a sound range of half a nautical mile. The high frequency was very effective in fog, the staff of the station consisted of a head keeper and three assistant keepers. The families of the keepers lived with them at the station, the Station had a residence for the head keeper and his family, and another for the assistant keepers.

The lighthouse keepers and their families lived in isolation at Point Sur, the station included all facilities needed for them to be self-sustaining. There was a cistern which held 53,000 US gallons of water, there was a barn, where horses and cattle were kept. The carpenter and blacksmith shop held supplies for the keepers to do their own construction, the lamp tower, oil room, and fog signal room were all combined into one building because of limited space. Point Sur State Marine Reserve and Marine Conservation Area is a protected areas offshore from Point Sur Lighthouse

Marine protected areas are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or large lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources …

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Point Sur Lightstation is a lighthouse at Point Sur, California, 135 miles south of San Francisco, on the 361-foot -tall rock at the head of the point. It was established in 1889 and is part of Point Sur State Historic Park. The light house is 40 feet tall and 270 feet …

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